Mug Biryani Recipe – Veg Dum Biryani ( Baked)

• Basmati rice – 1 cup
• Water – 5 cups
• Whole spices ( 1 cinnamon,2 cloves,1 black stone flower,1 bayleaf,1cardamom)
• Salt – as needed
• Cooking oil or ghee – 1 tsp

For gravy

• Cooking oil + ghee – 1 tbsp+1 tbsp
• Whole spices -1 each
• Big onion – 1 no
• Green chilli – 1no
• G&G paste – 1/2 tsp
• Mixed vegetables ( 1 carrot,a handful of green peas,1 potato) – 1/2 cup
• Curd – 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Biryani masala powder – 1 tsp
• Salt & water – as needed

For dough

• Maida/All purpose flour – 1/2 cup
• Salt – a pinch
• Baking powder – 1/4 tsp
• Baking soda – a pinch
• Warm milk – 1 tbsp
• Water -as needed to knead the dough

For layering

• Mint+coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
• Browned onions – a handful
• Saffron soaked milk – 1/4 cup
• Cooking oil or ghee – to grease the mug

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes. In a wide kadai or vessel, boil 6 cups of water adding cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and black stone flower. Add some salt.  When the water comes to a roll boil, add lemon juice. Drain the water from the soaked basmati rice and add to the boiling water.
• Cook the rice in open pan for nearly 8 minutes. Stir it once or twice in the middle. Make sure you don’t over cook the rice. Rice should be firm and soft. It should be 3/4 th cooked.
• Remove the kadai and pass it through a colander/sieve. Run the tap water over the rice to stop cooking process. Drain all the excess water and keep the rice in the colander. Spread it in a wide plate and let it cool completely.

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil and caramalize the onions by sauting in high flame for a minute. Remove in a plate.
• Now prepare the gravy. Heat oil+ghee in a wide kadai and saute the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bayleaf. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute till raw smell goes off. Now add sliced onions and saute till transparent.
• Add the mixed vegetables and saute well. Add salt.

• Now add the curd and mix well in low flame. Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala powder and salt.  Mix well.Lastly add some water and cook the mixture very well till veggies are completely cooked and oil floats on top. It will become a semi solid gravy.

• Remove the kadai and keep the gravy aside. Take a bowl and make the chapathi dough adding the ingredients given under “ For dough” OR make a plain chapathi dough using wheat flour & salt to seal the mug.
• Take the microwave safe mugs and grease with a tsp of oil.

• Spread a small ladle of cooked rice as first layer. Now layer the gravy over the rice and sprinkle some chopped mint+coriander leaves.

• Layer with rice now. Repeat the same till the brim of mug. Lastly sprinkle some saffron soaked milk and caramelized onions. Seal the mug with a small round disc made of dough. Preheat the oven in 180c and bake the biryani for 15 minutes. Remove & serve hot !

Enjoy with raita !

• Adding green chillies is optional. U can add more red chilli powder for spicy biryani.
• You can replace  biryani masala powder with garama masala powder too.
• Addition of mint+coriander leaves is very important.
• Replace curd with lemon juice for variations but add lemon juice only before putting in DUM. In that case, add 2 tomatoes along with onions and saute until mushy.